Bosschaart gone for season

Dominic Bossi

Sydney FC have suffered a massive blow just days after appearing to have turned their season around with defender Pascal Bosschaart ruled out for the remainder of the A-League season.

Scans today confirmed that the veteran Dutch centre back will have to undergo surgery on a heal injury to remove a bone spur and repair a tear in his Achilles. Bosschaart missed the Sky Blues preseason and first five games this season due to a separate and unrelated achilles injury. The 32-year-old will be out for six months whilst undergoing rehabilitation.

Gone ... central defender Pascal Bosschaart is out for the season and will have surgery to remove a bone spur from his heel. Photo: brendan esposito

“It's definitely a blow for us but we will push on with the players who have been getting the job done in recent weeks,” Sydney FC coach Frank Farina said. “Pascal is an experienced player and we will miss that experience as we move towards the business end of the season."

It is not yet known whether Sydney FC will look for an injury replacement for the remaining 11 games of the season.

Bosschaart joined the Sky Blues at the start of last season after playing 15 seasons in the Dutch Eredivisie with FC Utrecht, Feyenoord and ADO Den Haag.

Despite spending most of his career as a left-back or a defensive midfielder, he immediately established himself in the heart of the defence for Sydney FC as they qualified for the A-League finals. However, Bosschaart has struggled to replicate his form this season as injury limited him to only six starts. He scored against Melbourne Victory in his season debut last November, his first career league goal.